Gas turbine engines of aircrafts are generally supported and secured below a pylon associated with the aircraft. In order to additionally support the weight of the engine, both while the aircraft is static and in flight, an aft mount structure is typically connected between the aft section of the turbine engine and the associated pylon. In supporting the aft section of the turbine engine, the aft mount aids in withstanding not only gravitational forces but also various forces encountered in flight. Moreover, the aft mount serves to maintain the position of the turbine engine relative to the associated pylon and aircraft in the presence of axial thrust forces caused by operation of the turbine engine as well as any lateral aerodynamic forces introduced during flight.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, however, currently existing aft mounts 2 typically involve a complex arrangement of components, which not only occupies a lot of the space surrounding the turbine engine, but also adds to the overall time and cost associated with manufacturing, assembly and installation. For instance, the aft mount 2 shown may include a mount plate 4 which attaches to a pylon (not shown) associated with the turbine engine 6, a plurality of short links 8 which attach the mount plate 4 to the aft section 10 of the turbine engine 6, and a pair of long thrust links 12 connecting the mount plate 4 to a body of the turbine engine 6. For each additional point of connection between the components within the aft mount, the aft mount is exposed to another area of potential failure and subjected to additional costs. The structure of such aft mounts further make it more difficult to provide any redundancy to each of the points of connection. Furthermore, the size and space occupied by the aft mount limits the space available for other critical components.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved structure that can be used to mount a gas turbine engine onto a pylon of an aircraft while overcoming the deficiencies of the prior art. More specifically, there is need for a mounting structure which sufficiently aids in supporting a gas turbine engine against axial thrust forces as well as any lateral aerodynamic forces, while reducing the overall space that is occupied by the structure, as well as the overall cost of implementation. There is also need for a more simplified mounting structure which provides for more redundancy and significantly fewer points of potential failures.